'Don't know why controversy, Bhola, Shankar names factual': IC-814 passenger on Netflix row

TOI News Desk / TIMESOFINDIA.COM / Sep 4, 2024, 22:13 IST

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Pooja Kataria, a survivor of the IC-814 hijacking in 1999, confirmed that Bhola and Shankar were indeed real names used by the hijackers. She recounted her ordeal and mentioned how one hijacker celebrated her birthday. The Netflix series 'IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack' has faced backlash over its portrayal of these names.

'Don't know why controversy, Bhola, Shankar names factual': IC-814 passenger on Netflix row

NEW DELHI: Amid row over Netflix series regarding the names used to portray the hijackers of IC-814 flight in 1999, a passesnger relived her experience and said that Bhola and Shankar were the real names.
"I don't know why people are making a controversy around the series. The series is based on a real event and the names of the hijackers -- Bhola and Shankar -- used in the series are also factual," Pooja Kataria, who was on the flight when it got hijacked, said.
Reliving her horror, Kataria recalled, "We were returning from Nepal when the aeroplane got hijacked. There were 176 passengers on the flight. Just half an hour after the flight took off, it was hijacked."
"There were 5 hijackers in the plane. We were all scared and didn't have any idea about our whereabouts. We were given nothing to eat, except a small apple on a day," she added.

Recollecting how the hijackers celebrated her birthday on the flight, Kataria said, "One of the hijackers who was called Burger celebrated my birthday on the hijacked plane and also gifted me his shawl on that day."
"Another hijacker who identified himself as Doctor used to give speeches on Islam on the plane and seemed to be an intelligent individual," she added.
The series 'IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack' sparked controversy on social media over the portrayal of the hijackers' names. In response, Netflix updated its disclaimer to include both the real and code names of the hijackers.
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Delhi high court by Surjit Singh Yadav, chief of Hindu Sena, seeking a ban on the Netflix series.

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